FB #4 - The Language of Fashion

One of the things I love about blogging is the opportunity to write creatively, while still respecting grammar, syntax and punctuation (of course!). One of the things I love about reading other blogs is the opportunity to see how other people write. Quite frankly, every writer has a different written “voice,” a different flow, and a different descriptive tone. I picked two different blogs about the same topic – Tom Ford’s F/W 2013 runway show at London Fashion Week – one from the NY Times blog, and the other from Vogue. While they cover the same basics, the Vogue article went into much more detail, creating a much stronger visual to mind.

To be honest, I zeroed in on the NY Times blog simply because of the words “High-Definition” in the title. I love that such a techy phrase, technology being so structured and finite, can be applied to something as free and artistic as fashion. In reading Horn’s description of the show, I was delighted to see the words “Ka-Pow” and “bedazzled” because these descriptive words are as exciting as the apparel they describe. Without even seeing photos from the runway, I felt that I was able to gain a good sense of what the show looked like as it strutted by in my mind’s eye – plenty of silk, skirts, and beaded outfits, in comic-book-style prints and patterns which are a mash-up of cultural and ethnic... and plenty of ka-pow. In my mind, I can legitimately see the angles and edges of the explosion the word "ka-pow!" brings to mind - graphic, colorful, bright, primary colors, bold, in-your-face.



Overall, the NY Times blog by Cathy Horyn adequately describes the collection, but I found that the Vogue blog by Sarah Mower gave more details regarding the silhouette and design, details, and much more on color and fabric. I got a more complete vision of the collection from Vogue.

Below is a side-by-side comparison (with links to both articles) featuring key words from each article for the categories Silhouette & Design, Details, Color, Fabric and Creative “Jargon.” When reading through these, I encourage you to visualize what this collection could possibly look like as it walks down the runway. Some photos of the show are below this table. I’ll be interested to hear if you were able to visualize the Tom Ford show as well as I was!

NYTimes: Tom Ford in High-Definition by Cathy Horyn

Vogue: Tom Ford F/W 2013 RTW Review by Sarah Mower

1.       Silhouette & Design a.       Silk gowns b.      Beaded outfits c.       Suits with skirts notched at the hem 2.       Details a.       Brightly beaded b.      Comic book-style explosions of embroidery c.       Spangled d.      Bedazzled 3.       Color a.       Pink 4.       Fabric a.       silk 5.       Creative “Jargon” a.       Mash-up of cultural styles b.      High-low mix c.       Cross-cultural mix d.      High-definition style e.      Head-to-toe f.        Silhouette g.       Skirts/…/notched at the hem h.      Potent i.         Visual j.        KAPOW k.       Comic book style

1.       Silhouette & Design a.       Hoodies b.      Bomber jackets c.       Parkas d.      Boots e.      Coats f.        Pencil skirted suits g.       Column dresses h.      Ponchos 2.       Details a.       Sequined b.      Leopard-spotted c.       Swishing Western fringe d.      Flower-embroidered e.      Pop art Shazam/Ka-Pow motifs f.        Patchwork g.       Beaded 3.       Color a.       Multicolored b.      Blue c.       Red d.      Fuchsia e.      Black 4.       Fabric a.       Silk b.      Fur c.       Pony skin d.      See-through lace 5.       Creative “Jargon” a.       Maximalists b.      Cross Cultural Multi Ethnic c.       Upgraded d.      Vivid e.      Glamorously sexy f.        Shimmying

For more photos, be sure to visit the review blog posted by Vogue - the various looks are pretty wild!